Utamaro Kitagawa
Hanamurasaki of the Tamaya House, with Sekiya and Teriya from the series »Contemporary Series of Supreme Portraits«, 1794
About the object
Hanamurasaki was a courtesan working at the Tamaya brothel in the officially-licensed Yoshiwara nightclub district in Edo. Her name was recorded in the autumn of 1793 together with those of her kamuro students Sekiya and Teriya. The legalisation of prostitution in certain districts was not just on moral grounds, there were also financial reasons, since the registered brothels were taxed. In terms of academic research into Utamaro, this - possibly unique - print is of great importance.